


Room for Rent

by GlowingDuck



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-14 00:13:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3401315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingDuck/pseuds/GlowingDuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aidan is gay and figures he should move out before coming out to his extremely homophobic parents. He sees the flyer on the notice board outside the school, and goes to the address. When he gets there, he doesn't expect the owner to be one of the absolute hottest guys in school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Wattpad

 

> **Room for rent**  
>  Male 18 renting out spare bedroom.  
>  Apartment w/ kitchen, bathroom, living room, satellite TV, internet connection  
>  Applicants male, pref. similar age

Aidan looked at the flyer once more, making sure he got the address right. He had found it on the notice board outside the school. It was perfect.   
He looked up at the house. It was a nice little house. Not too cramped-looking, but not overly large. It looked like a cozy little home. He wondered who lived there. 

He walked up the small pathway from the street up to the house, passing the car that was parked on the single parking spot outside the house.

Aidan checked the address one last time before taking a breath and ringing the doorbell.

The person who opened the door was possibly one of the last people he'd ever expected there.

Cameron was one of the best-looking guys in their school. Why on earth would he put up an application for a roommate? People literally threw themselves at him.  _Really, it had happened on more than one occasion._ Of course it wasn’t him who had posted it. It couldn’t be. And even if he had, there was no way he'd rent it out to Aidan.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I must've gotten the wrong address" Aidan took a slight step backwards.

"You here for the room?" Cameron gestured to the flyer in Aidan's hand.

"I... umh... yeah, but... I..."

"Guessing I'm not someone you were expecting, yeah?" Cameron smiled at the way Aidan looked absolutely lost.

"Yeah... I'm sorry, I... I'm gonna go..." Aidan gestured to leave.

"Why? Not interested in the room? You probably wouldn't have come here if you weren't" Cameron pointed out.

"Yeah, but you probably don't want me, so there's no point" Aidan looked at the ground.

"Well, I don't know you, so I can't say for sure, but so far, you're the best option..."

Aidan looked up at Cameron.

"Really? None of your friends wanna live with you?" Aidan asked in disbelief.

Cameron gave a small chuckle before he answered.

"More that I don't want to live with them. And it also says 'male' in the description. Most of those who've wanted to live with me are chicks. I'd rather not"

"Afraid it'd be awkward if you brought some other girl home?" Aidan teased.  _Where'd that come from?_

Cameron shrugged.

"Not really, I just would rather live with a guy, is all. But why don't you come on in, and we can talk and see if we're as compatible as I think, yeah? If you're interested, that is, but I think you are" he winked at Aidan, making him blush a little.

Cameron held the door open, and moved to the side, letting Aidan in.

Aidan realized he had been right. It was a cozy little house. And it felt like a home. He entered into a small hallway, hanging his coat up on the rack behind the door when Cameron motioned for him to do so, stepping out of his shoes before following Cameron further into the house. Cameron led him into the next room, which obviously was the living room, and next into the kitchen. Cameron flicked on the kettle, before he turned around to Aidan.

“I’m Cameron” he said with a smile, reaching out his hand to Aidan.

“I know who you are” Aidan mumbled, as if Cameron was silly for introducing himself because  _obviously, everyone knew who he was_ , before he shook Cameron’s hand and said “Aidan. I'm Aidan”

“So,  _Aidan_ ,” he smiled as he retracted his hand “you drink tea?”

“Yeah, yeah I do” Aidan couldn't help but smile back. 

 “Any preferences?” Cameron asked as he reached into the cabinet for the assorted tea boxes.

“I have ‘English Breakfast’, ‘Earl Grey’, ‘Vanilla’, ‘Four Fruits’, ‘Red Fruits’, ‘Mango Fusion’, whatever that it, still haven’t tried it, pretty sure I’ve never actually bought it, so I have no idea where it even came from, ‘Lemon Grey’, ‘Strawberry and Rhubarb’, not that great, ‘Vanilla Mist’, pretentious name, but surprisingly nice, ‘Peach and Papaya’, why haven’t I thrown that out yet? It’s awful. ‘Saturday Morning’, ‘Sunday Brunch’, where do they even come up with these names?, ‘Liquid Silver’, stings a bit, but surprisingly refreshing, does not contain actual silver, ‘Rooibos Raspberry’, ‘Orange and Cinnamon, and possibly every possible variation of Green Tea ever made, including plain ‘Green Tea’, obviously, ‘Green Tea Lemon’, ‘Green Tea Ginger and Honey’, heard it’s great for sore throat, but I’ve yet to try it out,  ‘Green Tea Jasmine’, ‘Green Tea Cranberry’ because my sister likes that, for some odd reason, ‘Green Tea Mint’ because that’s my mom's favourite, though it’s also a real nice pick-me-up when you've got a hangover” he kept muttering, partly to himself, while picking out the boxes and placing them on the counter.  
When he was done picking out the different tea boxes, he finally turned back to Aidan with a smile, leaning back on the counter.

“So, see anything you fancy?” he added with a slight smirk. Aidan wasn’t sure Cameron meant it the way it had sounded to him, but he blushed nonetheless. “Green Tea Lemon’s fine” he mumbled, while looking round the kitchen, mostly to avoid looking at Cameron.  _He’s hot, all right?_

Cameron just nodded while turning back to the cabinet and pulling out two mugs, placing them on the counter and putting a bag of ‘Green Tea Lemon’ in one and an ‘Earl Grey’ in the other. “Sugars?” he asked without turning around.

“Yeah, two please”

“So you like it sweet, eh? Me too, if there’s sweet tea, like vanilla, or something fruity. Then I usually have like two or three sugars. I prefer just milk in plain tea like this, though. Or sometimes cream.” Cameron kept talking while popping sugars into one mug, then pouring the newly-boiled water into both. Then he got a milk carton out of the fridge, and poured a bit into the other mug, before he put the carton back in the fridge. He then slipped a teaspoon into each mug, picked them up and turned around to see Aidan standing awkwardly by the table.

“Well, sit down” he gestured for the chair next to Aidan, setting the mugs of tea down onto the table and sitting down on the chair opposite of him.

Cameron stirred his own tea while Aidan sat down and pulled the mug closer to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After re-reading the tea-listing, all I could think of was Scott Pilgrim’s “Did you make some of those up?”


	2. Chapter 2

Aidan stared into the steam from his mug for a moment, before he stirred it for a bit and looked up at Cameron, who’d just taken a sip of his own tea, and set down the mug before looking up and meeting Aidan’s eyes. Aidan was uncertain for a moment what to say, but he was saved from having to think up anything when Cameron started talking.

“So I assume you’re probably wondering about the rent and stuff, right? The rent is £750 a month, and since I’m the major tenant, meaning I sort of own the place, except I don’t really, but to simplify everything, let’s pretend I do. Anyway, that means we won’t be splitting the rent in half, since everything here is either mine, or was here from before. Like most of the appliances in the kitchen was here when I moved in. I just got a new toaster and kettle, actually. Anyway, your rent will be approximately 40% of the actual rent, so that should be pretty decent, yeah?” Cameron paused, giving Aidan a chance to disagree if he would. Aidan just nodded in understanding and agreement. Cameron smiled at him before continuing.

“By the way, pets aren’t allowed. Not my rule. Fishes and turtles are allowed, though. That’s what I was told when I moved in here. I assume it’s ‘cause of allergies and stuff.” Cameron took another sip of his tea and seemed to be done talking at the moment.

Aidan realized he still hadn’t even tasted his own tea. He tried a small sip, and found it was still much too hot to drink. _Maybe milk wasn’t such a bad idea after all…_

Cameron looked at Aidan as if he expected him to say something, so he thought through what Cameron had just been talking about, and figured he’s start with his ability to pay the rent.

“I work at a convenience store twice a week, so I’m able to pay the rent. You don’t have to worry that I might slack off on the rent or not be able to pay sometimes.” He finished with a small smile that he hoped seemed reassuring.

Cameron just grinned at the new information, and took another gulp of his tea.

“I don’t have any pets either” Aidan continued. “Not planning on getting any anytime soon either. School and work take up most of my time anyway” He tried another careful sip of his tea, and it was finally nearing drinkable, though still too hot for anything other than small sips.

“Do you want a pet? Hypothetically. Like, maybe in the future?” Cameron asked nonchalantly, though his question seemed more loaded. “And if so, what would you get?” He ended the question with a slightly pointed look at Aidan. It felt as if the answer to that question would be more significant than it might appear.

Aidan held Cameron’s gaze for a moment, before he opted for answering truthfully.

“I might want a dog or two sometime in the future. You know, when I have a place of my own and a steady fulltime job and actually have time and the means to take care of them. Never been too fond of cats.” He finished with a casual shrug, though he felt like this answer was more important to Cameron than whether or not he could actually pay the rent.

Cameron just grinned widely at him.

“Yeah, dogs are great” he responded, his grin still on his face.

“I take it you’re a dog person” Aidan said with a small, relieved smile, and took another sip of his tea.

“What gave it away?” Cameron chuckled.

“Yeah, no, I’ve grown up with dogs. My parents had a Labrador when I was growing up. He died 6 or 7 years ago. Old age. They got him while my sister was still in diapers, so he was already kinda old when I grew up. I loved him so much. I was devastated when he died.” Cameron had an almost sad, nostalgic smile as he talked.

“Now they’ve got a nice little mutt from a rescue shelter. They got her a couple years after Dino died.”

“Dino?” Aidan interrupted, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, my sister got to name him, and she was going through a dinosaur-phase” Cameron grinned.

“What about you? Any childhood pets?” Cameron asked, his grin having turned into a curious smile.

Aidan looked back down at the mug, rubbing his thumb along the handle.

“My grandma had a dog. Small. Not sure what breed. It was sent away when she died, ‘cause my mom’s allergic, and my dad didn’t want it anyway. I don’t know what happened to it, if it was sent to a shelter, or someone else got her, or-“ he trailed off, squeezing the mug until he was startled by a hand covering his. He snapped his head up, meeting Cameron’s gentle eyes.

“You’ll break it” he said calmly, nodding to the mug.

Aidan looked down and released his grip instantly, slapping Cameron’s hand away in the action.

Aidan was sure he’d screwed up. Who would ever want to live with a bloody lunatic like him? He couldn’t even answer a bloody question without having a damn breakdown. He nearly broke a damn mug because he was asked if he’d had any bloody childhood pets. What was wrong with him? He should just leave. Save himself the imminent rejection that was sure to happen-

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have probed. I get it. Family, sensitive area. How about we stick to safer topics, yeah? And anything you don’t feel comfortable talking about, or that comes with unwelcome memories, you don’t have to answer. Deal?”

Aidan looked up at Cameron with wide eyes. How did this guy still even want to talk to him?

“You still want me potentially living here? Even after that?” Aidan asked in disbelief and confusion.

“Dude, we all got crap memories. Some just more prominent than others’. And anyway, who am I to judge? I get all teary eyed anytime I think too long about Dino” Cameron said, and then, in a lower voice, nearly whispering, he added “Sometimes I even cry. But don’t tell anyone else, yeah?” The last word accompanied by a wink.

Aidan felt instantly better. Cameron seemed genuinely nice, and the air didn’t seem as heavy any more. He took a proper gulp of his tea, which had finally cooled enough to be drinkable.


End file.
